The midterms are now over and contrary to what Trump and his acolytes tell you there was a blue wave against his régime.
When you take gerrymandering, blatant voter suppression tactics and God knows what else Democratic voters are forced to go through to cast a vote, it was a terrific win for the Democratic party and a chance for the nation to pull back from this two-year nightmare that is making us all sick.
As those of us who care about the country, the rights of others, and the rule of law let out a sigh of relief that the impediments placed in the way of the democratic process did not win out, Democrats still managed to win in excess of the 23 seats they needed to take back control of the Congress even as the votes are still being tabulated in places like California.
According to experts, by the time the counting is done Democrats are expected to have raked in somewhere between 30 and 36 seats in the house.
Democrats lost a few seats they already had. In Missouri, Claire Mccaskill went down to defeat. So too did Joe Donnelly in Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota and before its all done so too may Bill Nelson in Florida.
In the meantime, the race in Arizona to fill Jeff Flakes Senate seat is locked, too close to call between Sinema and Republican Martha McSally.
But Democrats also had some near misses as well In Florida, the race between Andrew Gillum and Desantis is still too close to call although Gillum sorta conceded.
That race is probably going to result in a recount.
In Georgia the race is so close there may very well be a runoff between Stacy Abrams, the woman vying to be the nation’s first African-American Governor and the secretary of state Brian Kemp. Per Georgia’s law, if neither candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes a runoff is forced between the candidates.
In Texas, Beto O’rourke fell short of defeating incumbent Raphael Cruz. Nevertheless, O’rourke may be poised for even bigger and better things in the future if some in the punditry class have their way.
Overall, Democrats still stand to gain more seats in the house and it should not go unnoticed that Nevada’s Dean Heller who tied himself to Trump went down in defeat to Democrat Jacky Rosen.
Additionally, seven new governorships were added to the Dems total and well over 300 seats in state legislatures across the country.
The legislative wins in the state houses sound significant but in essence under President Obama Republicans took over almost two-thirds of the seats in state legislatures across the country.
According to (the Atlantic.com)
Red-to-blue flips may be most significant in states such as North Carolina and Texas, where Republican legislators have redrawn congressional districts into Rorschach-test shapes that are often specifically designed to limit the electoral influence of racial minorities. They have also pushed voter-roll purges, voter-ID laws, and other voting restrictions that make it difficult for people to vote, or for their ballot to be counted. These measures also often target racial minorities, thus suppressing Democratic turnout.
So what does all of this mean for the Democrats chances going forward?
Before we answer that question it is critical that we consider the impact the Trump senate will have on the Federal judiciary for the future.
With Mitch McConnell as the leader in the SenateDemocrats lost the opportunity to appoint Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court to fill the seat vacated by the deceased Antonin Scalia.
Judge Garland languished under appointment for over a year as Mitch McConnell thwarted President Obama’s right to appoint and fill the seat. Garland wasn’t even granted a meeting with Republican senators. Those are the people who were largely rewarded with another six-year term in the Senate yesterday.
Such is the state of logical reasoning in the American electorate.
In the end, Trump rammed through Neil Gorsuch and of course Brett (I like beer) Kavanaugh. Two Supreme court appointments in two years.
But that does not tell the full story about the forty-something judges he is stacking on the federal bench at the lower levels, numbers of judges unprecedented by any other president.
These white men will be making the call on justice for the next forty to fifty years.
While you are scratching your head trying to find the cords which bind Trump to his cult of [deplorables] look no further than the things he is doing.
Trump is only a symptom of a deeper rot which exists in the country.
Remember his “I could shoot someone on 5th avenue and I wouldn’t lose any support”?
Ya, he may not be the brightest bulb in the room but that much he understood.
Contrary to what the punditry class tell you about wages and other crap, the fact of the matter is that Trump hates the same people they hate, so essentially when you stand with mouth agape at the things he says and does, wonder no more, he is merely a bullhorn for the racist xenophobes which are in larger numbers than many are wont to admit.
There is a stubborn racism that persists in America, particularly in older whites who have lived insular lives, they are generally uneducated and in many cases have not ventured outside the counties and states in which they were born much less venturing to the country.
Contrary to the starry-eyed stories politicians tell when they are seeking their votes, many of these people are incredibly small-minded and xenophobic.
It is shocking to hear them talk about other human beings who do not look like them.
And guess what, the problem isn’t going away, the young ones are equally as venomous, just more dangerous.
Which brings me to what we may expect to see going forward.
(1) The 2020 Race for president will begin in earnest, rest assured the various candidates on the left and maybe on the right are already making phone calls to line up donors, as well as to test the waters to test their feasibility for the 2020 race.
(2) let us get this straight, this economy will certainly not be clicking on all cylinders as it is now (thanks Obama) come 2020.
CNBC reported on July of this year that Investors are so nervous about a potential recession that they are preparing for one.
A late-cycle represents an economy that has been growing, but is poised to fall into a recession, amid tighter credit availability, lower profit margins, and tighter monetary policy.“We are no longer long, we are increasingly nervous about this,” Roelof Salomons, chief strategist at Kempen Capital Management, said.
(3) With no great economy to run on because Trump will have damaged the economy with his misguided tariffs and an economy which has run its course, Trump will be forced to run on what he did in 2018, fear.
Trump knows quite well that there is still that constituency I alluded to which is quite willing to overlook his flaws as long as he is willing to reinforce white supremacy.
He will subsequently be forced to depend more and more on that segment of the population, a diminished base it will be but what Trump has nonetheless.
(4) If Trump finishes his first term with this new Democratic house and decides to run for reelection, it will come down to who the Democrats nominate to be their standard bearer. A wounded Donald Trump, a Trump who quite possibly will be under impeachment proceedings will not win re-election.
This post has been updated